Tuesday, December 18, 2007

No real problems today, though it took me somewhat longer than normal (with an extra 90 seconds tacked on to my "official" time at the NYT site because my version of Firefox likes to seize up now and then, and then when I try to reload the puzzle, and am successful, I find that the timer has been running the whole time ... nice). WHAT MATTERS felt like a stretch as a self-standing phrase, and WHO CAN IT BE really wants a NOW tacked on to the end, but other than that, the theme felt lively and fresh.

Theme answers:

17A: Response to a knock (who can it be?)

26A: The important thing (what matters)

38A: Doctor's query (where does it hurt?)

44A: "Never!" ("When pigs fly!") - all "Simpsons" fans will have the same image here... as-yet-unbarbecued pig, expelled from hole in dam, flying through sky over nuclear power plant...

59A: Discounter's pitch (why pay more?)

Nothing tough here. I had one major mistake, which was writing in ERWIN for EDWIN (39D: Dickens's Drood), which gave me SOWER instead of SOWED in the cross (41A: Scattered about), and while SOWED is the obvious answer there ... well, let's just say it's not obvious if you never read the clue.

I got nothing to say about this puzzle today. I like that REESE (66A: Teammate of Snider and Hodges) was clued via baseball and not Witherspoon, for once. And I will just point out that OTB (8D: Pony players' locale, in brief) is a nice abbrev. to learn, if you don't already know it. Off Track Betting. Ditto IPOS (54D: N.Y.S.E. debuts) - Initial Public Offerings. OONA (31A: A Chaplin) took some time out of her retirement to let us know she's still alive. And I can't get "Pinball Wizard" out of my head this morning (48D: Rock opera with the song "Pinball Wizard" - TOMMY).

I don't believe I've ever seen or will see a sign that says TO RENT. Foxy Pig is correct: the proper usage is FOR RENT or TO LET. Other than that I thought this was kind of a "meh" puzzle, even for a Tuesday.

Anonymous 9:45Professors at the end of the semester are continuously being pestered by student banging on the door, hence the preference for WHOCANITBENOW.By the end of the break, a knock at the door will be a simple WHOCANITBE

I got tangled up in the SW corner as well. "To Rent" seems less common to my ear than "For Rent" or "To Let". Of course my favorite answer today: when pigs fly! Also though I don't know why, just like the prefix ambi.

Like Rex, I thought I had nothing to say about this puzzle. It just left me completely flat, I finished it, put it down, and said to myself "well, that's seven minutes of my life I'll never get back". Just a bunch of boring fill.

But, I do have to agree with others about the TORENT issue. Google has 125,000,000 hits on "to let", 84,000,000 on "for rent", and only 38,100,000 on "to rent", with most of those being used in the middle of sentence like "I am looking for an apartment to rent....." so they really don't count.

Figured the theme out quickly, but created a problem by guessing PINON for 30D...a few overwrites later it worked. Also, wasn't sure about Mr. Marley..Bob came to mind, but this guy was not in to reggae I think.

My complaint as a returning solver is 4D...I never read Hammet call his guy a "tec"... in Philly we might call the investigating police officer a "dick" but that is another story. (sort of like 20A, but saying it as initials)

First of all, I thought it was timely to have JAWS in here, since today is Steven Spielberg's 60th birthday.

Not only did we get Jacob Marley, but we got two-thirds of Santa's favorite saying (HOHO). Nice!

Didn't anyone else think the juxtaposition of STUDIOS and TO RENT was clever?

If you're not too busy humming "Pinball Wizard," perhaps you'll have room for Men at Work's "Who Can It Be Now."

Now I know what the premise for MYST is. Who knew?

If I ever construct a puzzle, you can lay money that one of the clues will be "Grammy-winning producer Burnett" for TBONE. For now, I'll have to go with the steak reference.

Back in tne 1960s and 1970s (when comic books had letters pages), DECTECTIVE COMICS was often abbreviated as 'TEC. Plus, correct me if I'm wrong, I believe that the word "tec" appears in the book for MY FAIR LADY in the first scene, when Higgins is outside the theater. identifying everyone by his or her accent. ("He's a blooming 'tec" sticks in my mind.)

All in all, I liked this one! I thought there were some fun variations on on the old Who/What/Where/When/Why theme.

Jeff,I saw your little flying pig, flying at Kennedy airport in a souvenir shop!Thanks for introducing "Who can it be now", Rex, I would rather have that spinning in my head than "Pin Ball Wizzard".SW was the only trouble spot, though not too much; I prefer my Tuesday puzzle a little more difficult.

Not a lot of juicy fill today, but I echo the enjoyment of STUDIOS on top of TO RENT in the SW. That was a nice touch.

I also liked the appearance of MYST in the puzzle. That brought back memories of happy hours solving the mysteries of that game. Quite a ground-breaking game in its day and one that has really aged well.

I would venture to call today's puzzle easier than yesterday's surprisingly difficult (for a Monday) offering, but I think the fill of the SW puts this one just a bit above it. (STAID, DEICE, and the rather unfortunate TORENT.)

That said, everything else was rather easy, and all of the theme clues were attainable for me without any fill (Got WHOCANITBE, then just plugged the rest in.)

Also not much to say. I too got bogged down a bit in SW with AMBI, URBAN, and DEICE. I had TORENT at first but kept wanting to change it when URBAN wasn't coming. I just didn't look right. Not a bad puzzle but not a great one either.

Rex, Just wanted to say thanks. This site has always been entertaining and a learning experience. It is amazing how many of us spend our time on these puzzles. No matter where we are in the country we all need our fix.

"I Keep six honest serving-men:(They taught me all I knew)Their names are What and Where and WhenAnd How and Why and Who.I send them over land and sea,I send them east and west;But after they have worked for me,I give them all a rest."

Mary - regarding Jacob Marley, recall that Scooge never bothered to paint out his name and above the warehouse the sign still read "Scrooge and Marley". Visitors sometimes called Scrooge Scrooge and sometimes Marley. He answered to both.

OTB -- I wonder if non-New Yorkers know of these big screen betting parlors. Do other states have OTB or the equivalent?

good call, billnutt! from pygmalion:----------THE GENTLEMAN. Charge! I make no charge. [To the note taker] Really, sir, if you are a detective, you need not begin protecting me against molestation by young women until I ask you. Anybody could see that the girl meant no harm. 65 THE BYSTANDERS GENERALLY [demonstrating against police espionage] Course they could. What business is it of yours? You mind your own affairs. He wants promotion, he does. Taking down people's words! Girl never said a word to him. What harm if she did? Nice thing a girl cant shelter from the rain without being insulted, etc., etc., etc. [She is conducted by the more sympathetic demonstrators back to her plinth, where she resumes her seat and struggles with her emotion. THE BYSTANDER. He aint a tec. Hes a blooming busybody: thats what he is. I tell you, look at his boots.-----------

and while a "tec" may not be a private eye, certainly a private eye is a detective, no?

'Tec' in My Fair Lady -- the bystander says about Higgins, the notetaker - "He ain't a tec, he's a blooming busybody..." It seems to be cockney slang for 'detective' as Eliza is afraid the man will arrest her. Maybe 'tec in hard boiled crime fiction is used facetiously or sarcastically to denote a private eye.

If you're having trouble getting "Pinball Wizard" out of your head today, you may want to make it more relevant:_________________________________________________Crossword Wizard

Ever since I was a young boyI’ve solved the New York TimesFrom Mondays’ through Sundays’My skill I’d rate just fineBut I ain’t seen nothin’ like himHe breathes, the grid starts to fallThat one called Tyler HinmanHe solves it fastest of 'em all

He stands like a statueHis eyes scan over the gridFeeling omnipotentOf hesitation he is ridHe plays by intuitionEach corner quickly fallsThe one they call Tyler HinmanHe’s the fastest solver of all